Cooper Robert Pratt

Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas Eve

Cooper is obsessed with Santa this year. We show him Ipad apps, pictures, videos, etc. all of Santa. He gets super excited, shy, and a little confused when he sees Santa in pictures.

Seeing Santa in person is a different story.

He is terrified of him. He only enjoys looking at him from a distance.

We were lucky enough to go to brunch with Santa at English Turn last weekend.

Look, momma and dada, there he is!!!


Cooper would only eat grapes for brunch. That's it. Each one of those grapes cost us about $2.
But he loved them.

 


Cooper is also obsessed with balloons. Here he is with Andrew.



They also had train rides, which was really cute. Cooper loves to go choo-choo!


Our family....one of the few shots of the three of us together.


And here's the evidence that Coop only likes Santa from a distance.

Can you see his tonsils??

I can.

Some stay it's torture to do this to your kids.

I think its essential to have a picture of your baby with Santa every year.

ps- this Santa was such a dud. he didn't move or talk. i'm pretty sure he was hungover.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Changes and back in time

Well, we have finally settled into our little home in NOLA. It has taken some adjusting, but I think we are there. So many things have been happening since our move, so I will have to slowly update you on what is going on.
It is my goal to update this more...especially about our new adventures in 'Nawlins.

The night before we left Knoxville was...Halloween!!  We were so lucky to spend this last night with my parents and all our friends and neighbors. All the kids in the neighborhood looked so cute dressed up.

Cooper's best buddy in the neighborhood, Mason (I mean, Woody):

We really miss seeing you everyday!!

Kisses for Mason
our dog mows our yard, too!
Coop's big brother and partner in crime, Jackson. boy, I miss this guy. he made my days better...everyday!!
our first stop, at Mrs. Marilyn's house
drew and reese
ayden....another buddy of cooper. and a bigger buddy of jack

pretty girls
sweet pressley

one last hurrah and mrs. barb's house...mason leading the way!!

Cooper's dog costume he borrowed from his buddy/BFF Mason...aka Woody (whom he misses very much and claps when he sees his picture) fit perfect and he looked so cute!!!

I have so much more to post about!!  Hopefully I'll get caught up before Coop's 2nd birthday!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Our new old house

We finally found a house in NOLA!  Real-estate is....let's say....very different there. Things come and go so fast. And it's expensive!! Andrew and I drove around alot calling about different places we saw that we liked. Responses included.. $450,000....$629,000....etc. etc. etc. So, to say the least, we are happy with our little rental for now.

Our new old house has lots of charm!  It must be at least 100 years old. There are huge glass doorknobs, a fireplace in every room (5 total!!), huge 9 foot windows, 12 foot + ceilings (the things are high!), and updated kitchen and 2 full baths (which, believe it or not, is rare in New Orleans and in old homes), original hardwoods throughout the entire house. Its on a really cute street within walking distance to the park, streetcar, library, etc. We are only a few blocks from the Mardi Gras route which is exciting!! (No...not in the Quarter...the family friendly Mardi Gras in Uptown!) Tulane is only a few minutes away. We are living right in the heart of Uptown New Orleans.  I mean...we practically live in the same neighborhood as Drew Brees. Haha!

Believe it or not, we found our new home on craigslist! Technology these days...I'll tell you what.

Please excuse these pictures...they aren't so good.  And its been "staged". I promise this isn't our stuff!!







Monday, October 10, 2011

Last day

my last day at work is kinda sad

but it's time to move on

looking forward and not looking back

happy monday y'all



Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Adventures with PawPaw

So, my dad has an Iphone.

And my dad loves to take Cooper places.

Here's the evidence:

Checkin' out the fountains at Market Square


A little too young...at the arcade


Doggie like Jack

"Which one of these toys is PawPaw gonna buy me now?"

Swinging...one of my favorite things to do!

I love tractors!!!

At the firehall...a little nervous...check out the hands

Out on the farm!! My favorite place to be!


Seeing a horse for the first time

Me and PawPaw

Whhoooaaa!! A real tractor!!

Riding thru the woods

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Changes and a new adventure!

It's been too long since I have written on here! I haven't even had a chance to put up beach pictures - and that was in July. Every night a lay in bed and think of all the blog posts I should be doing, but I'm not. I guess real life gets in the way sometimes.

Here is a quick rundown:

Change #1 - Andrew is a HEAD coach!! 


Tulane University came calling right when Andrew got back from a week in Scotland in mid-August. It all happened so fast!! They flew us down there...wined and dined us...and we said YES! It's a great opportunity for him to advance his coaching career at such a young age. Tulane is know for women's golf and the campus is absolutely beautiful! Makes UT look way to commercialized!!  He is already moved down and enjoying living on campus (like a college kid- lol) until we join him sometime this year (or early next). We have to sell our home here (any takers?) and take care of a few things - primarily finding somewhere to live down there. I never thought I'd leave Knoxville...especially for NOLA, but I am excited to see what this new chapter brings. Everything happens for a reason...

Here is their logo...I need some green!!



Change #2 - I got my back/leg fixed....sort of

Anyone who is close to me knows I've been having severe leg pain for about 6 months now. The unbearable kind. The kind that makes you cringe. Well, turns out, I've had a bulging disc (a big bulge the doc said). So I went in for surgery 2 weeks ago. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but I am starting to feel better each day. I go to PT twice a week to "stretch it out" and get my lower back stronger. We really, really, really wanna sibling for Coop, so in about 6 months I'll get released to start trying!! So excited about that :)

Change #3

My mom has moved in with me for about 6 weeks cause I can't pick up Cooper (see #2). It's working out great...I really don't know what I'd do without her here. She has helped me in more ways than one. Cooper loves his Nana and doesn't even bat an eye at me anymore! 

Change #4

Cooper is growing up so fast. I'm gonna dedicate an entire blog post to this, but he is learning and changing everyday! It's amazing! I love this age!! 

I'll leave you with this picture from PawPaw's Iphone...on the farm today...


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

On our way

Cooper did exceptionally well on our ride to Hilton Head.
 We split it up into two days so we could visit McCormick, SC...home of Ms. Jane Fairburn.


"I'm so happy you finally turned me around. Now I can see all the cars, trucks, trees and (in McCormick) deer!"

Daddy drove most of the way. Oops!  Caught red-handed with your phone.


You see, Jane and Andrew go way back.
To like 2004.
Andrew used to play this game called golf for a living (that means for money!)  Wherever that week's tournament was, he would try to get housing (some nice person would let a golfer come stay with them for the week.)  Along the way, Andrew (and me) met some wonderful people. Some we still keep in contact with. 
Enter Jane.
 She's just lovely. Her smile is lovely. Her house is lovely. And, most importantly, her heart is lovely.
We hadn't seen her since our wedding, so we wanted to swing (haha- get it??) by for a quick visit. She had never met Cooper and totally laid out the red carpet for us. She even borrowed a crib for Cooper!!  (See lovely heart comment above).

Here she is:
She has...get this...16 (I think that's right) grandchildren! 

Looking forward to many more years of friendship to come!!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Best Daddy

Cooper has the best Daddy.
 Hands down.
Andrew loves to build stuff. Especially things for Cooper. (He can't wait til Coop's old enough to help).

He worked on this sandbox project for days weeks (he told me it would take 2 days.  well...that was 2 weeks ago and we finally got the last of the extra sand out of our driveway).

He mapped out a plan.

Dug up some grass.


Slaved in the hot sun.


With a little help


To make it perfect.

Father-son LOVE.

And I couldn't resist putting these cute dirty legs on here:


Well, I believe Cooper definitely has the biggest (11'x11') and probably one of the best sandboxes around.

Here it is:  work in progress:

  He thought Cooper needed a little step so he could get in and out.

 And a bench all the way around...so he could take a break


Oh, and did I mention, it is the the most expensive sandbox ever build for a 15 month old?? Well, let's see...when you add up the cost to fix 2 irrigation lines that were hit and a windshield that was busted in the process of getting wood from Lowe's...it got pretty expensive. And the sand was free!
But Cooper LOVES it.
And that makes it worth it, right?
 
 
He also loved the sand pile in our driveway which is now gone...amen...I'm OCD and that thing was driving me crazy!
 But he enjoyed it while it was there:

Every morning is started in the sandbox.

And almost every evening ends in the sandbox.

He wrote Cooper a message after he got it finished one night, so when he woke up and went out the next morning he could read it. (I think Andrew was hoping Coop was learning to read in his sleep).

I thought it was sweet!
(says:  Daddy loves you Cooper).